USDA funding to help farmers, ranchers cut energy costs

The number of farms utilizing renewable energy production has doubled in the last five years, according to Census of Agriculture data. 
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is seeking applications from rural small businesses and agricultural producers for funding to make energy efficiency improvements or to install renewable energy systems. Up to $12.3 million in grants and $57.8 million in loan guarantees are being provided through the USDA's Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
"Developing renewable energy presents an enormous economic opportunity for rural America," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a USDA press release. "This funding will help farmers, ranchers and rural small business owners incorporate renewable energy and energy efficiency technology into their operations, create jobs and help America become more energy independent. When small rural businesses and farmers cut their energy costs with cleaner and more efficient energy, we are both helping their bottom lines and reducing the amount of greenhouse gas pollution that affects our climate."
The USDA is accepting applications for:


• Renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement loan guarantee and grant combinations
• Renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement loan guarantees
• Renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement grants
REAP, which was created by the 2008 Farm Bill, was reauthorized by the recently passed 2014 Farm Bill. Census of Agriculture data show the number of farms utilizing renewable energy production has doubled in the last five years. More than 57,000 farms reported using a renewable energy system in 2012, while 23,451 operations reported doing so in 2007. Solar panels accounted for 63 percent of renewable energy systems on farms, with 36,331 farms reporting their use.
Information on how to apply for REAP funding and on the application deadlines, which vary by project type, are available on page 25,564 of the May 5, 2014, Federal Register.

Pig waste being used to power homes, farms

Organic waste from pigs on a farm in Leicestershire, UK, is helping to power an estimated 700 homes and reduce landfill waste by 18,000 metric tons each year. The pig waste, combined with other food waste, is being used to produce biogas capable of generating the equivalent of around 1.2 megawatts of electricity. The electricity is being exported onto the local energy grid used to power homes, as well as the pig farming facility.
The technology used to convert waste into energy was designed and built by a UK company, PROjEN BioEnergy, who were honored earlier this month by the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) at its annual award ceremony to celebrate innovation and excellence in chemical engineering across the world.
Using a process called anaerobic digestion - where natural bacteria are used to treat biodegradable materials - PROjEN's work has resulted in other major benefits. The farm's carbon emissions have been reduced by offsetting electricity and heating consumption. Waste and by-products normally destined for landfill and incineration has been avoided.
In addition, the process produces a high quality pasteurised fertiliser, which is weed free and rich in nitrogen. Around 96 million tonnes¹ of farm manures are applied to agricultural land each year in the UK, with strict controls. Pasteurisation helps to minimise the risks of food-borne diseases such as listeria and salmonella.
IChemE's chief executive, David Brown, said: "The work of organisations like PROjEN shows the potential of chemical engineering to transform discarded waste into valuable commodities to benefit industries like farming.
"The benefits from just one farm are impressive. With an estimated four million pigs² in the UK alone, producing millions of tonnes of by-products each year, the potential for energy production, from a sustainable source, is significant".
The role of chemical engineers in the energy sector is explored in IChemE's latest technical strategy, Chemical Engineering Matters. The strategy also includes actions chemical engineers are taking on other global challenges including health, water and food.

Biomethane plant supplies power to 5,000 homes

After an eight month construction period, one of Germany's largest biomethane refineries has gone live in the Altmark Industrial and Commercial Zone and has been supplying the public grid since May. With four digesters of 4,900 cubed meters, six digestate storage units of 5,000 cubed meters and a liquid reservoir, the Nordmethan plant from Vechta, Lower Saxony, produces 1,650 standard cubed meters of raw biogas an hour. Fifteen percent of this raw material is used for the heat needs of the plant, which was designed by Weltec Biopower.
By using chemical amine treatment, the gas converts about 700 standard cubed meters of processed biomethane an hour, with a methane content of 99 percent - enough to supply 5,000 homes with power and heat. For this purpose, a solid matter dosing feeder loads maize silage, whole-plant grain, sugar beets, dry chicken dung, chicken manure, liquid manure and water as substrates into the stainless-steel digesters. In total, the substrates delivered by local farmers amount to more than 70,000 tons a year.
"The biomethane refinery in Arneburg demonstrates that we must provide the right answer to the growing demand for biomethane for the various utilization paths. This sustainability is also highlighted by the fact that Nordmethan has created ten regular jobs and two training jobs, "says Jens Albartus, Director of Weltec Biopower.

Geothermal energy could lower turkey producers' heating, cooling costs

Geothermal energy could reduce utilities costs for turkey producers, as well as being environmentally and economically friendly, according to Yun-Sheng Xu, a University of Missouri engineer.
A prototype geothermal system is currently at work in a test facility, with positive results. “This is the first application of geothermal energy in a commercial livestock operation,” said Xu. “Our first set of performance data suggests that farmers could halve their heating and cooling costs. We have five units installed at the test farm. Other farmers could begin installing units on their turkey farms as soon as next year, for use next winter.”
Heating and cooling is important in turkey operations because the temperature in their enclosure must be kept at 90 degrees Fahrenheit while the birds are young, but lowered to 70 degrees Fahrenheit for older birds. Propane fuel for temperature control units can cost farmers tens of thousands of dollars per year. Propane burners in livestock barns produce humidity and carbon dioxide, which can smother the birds. Humidity in the bird barns moistens the foul waste from the fowl and leads to ammonia contamination of the air the birds breathe.
“Similar systems could be installed in other livestock operations,” said Xu. “It may work even better in a chicken coop, since they use solid walls as opposed to the curtains used to enclose turkey barns. Pig and cattle rearing facilities could benefit from the inexpensive hot water produced using a geothermal system. The system could even be scaled down to keep a doghouse comfortable in the backyard.”
Once a geothermal unit is installed, the operation and maintenance are much lower than operating a fossil fuel powered system. Geothermal systems use the constant 55 to 65 degrees Fahrenheit of the soil a few feet beneath the surface to regulate the temperature of a liquid flowing through buried tubing. Xu said his design is cheaper to install than other geothermal units. In his system, the tubing is buried horizontally, as opposed to other systems that rely on vertically placed tubes, which require expensive deep digging.
Using Xu’s system, a turkey farm can be both more economical and better for the environment than a farm run on fossil fuels, he said. Geothermal energy produces no greenhouse gases and isn’t dependent on wind or sunlight.

University of North Dakota leading poultry waste energy project

A collaboration led by the University of North Dakota's Energy & Environmental Research Center is looking at whether poultry waste can be converted to energy and other byproducts using an advanced fixed-bed gasifier.
The project, being conducted in cooperation with DenYon Energy and the U.S. Department of Energy, will begin with several weeks of pilot-scale tests to assess efficiency and performance of the system. Both poultry litter and other waste materials from the industry will be tested as fuel. Ultimately, the test will be able to identify the barriers and challenges that need to be overcome to bring the technology to commercial scale, according to the researchers.
“We are trying to achieve a complete solution for the poultry industry with this distributed energy technology,” said Nikhil Patel, research scientist, project manager and inventor of the technology. “A distributed-scale energy and by-product recovery process is an emerging need in the poultry industry. This project can lead to environmental and economic sustainability by helping a major food processing industry eliminate waste and become more energy self-reliant.”
If the technology works, it is estimated that a farm generating 3,000 tons a year of waste could produce about 280 kilowatts of power, enough to supply all the electricity needed for one year for nearly 150 average-sized homes.

Maryland pursues electricity from poultry litter

Gov. Martin O'Malley recently announced Maryland’s "Clean Bay Power Project" -- a new plan to buy power generated from animal manure, according to a local news report.
Poultry litter from Eastern Shore chicken farms now has the opportunity to supply the state with environmentally friendly electricity from litter.
Those seeking to provide the manure-generated power must be:

• able to generate up to 10 megawatts,
• connected to the regional electricity grid,
• able to generate electricity by December 31, 2015 and
• able to submit bids by November 30.

Poultry project aims to turn manure into energy

A pilot project to convert chicken manure into electricity is the focus of $1 million in grants given to the Eastern Shore Resource Conservation and Development Council.
The project will be based on an 11-house broiler operation in Melfa, Va., and also explores the potential to use the phosphorus-rich byproduct of the process as a fertilizer source. "The overall idea is, you've got this source of chicken litter — what could it be used for?" said P.G. Ross, chairman of the RC&D Council. "One idea was to combust it and use it to generate electricity."
Funding for the project includes a $421,650 Conservation Innovation Grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service. Another $210,000 will come from the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, along with $301,000 in equipment and other contributions from Farm Pilot Project Coordination Inc., a Tampa, Fla.-based non-profit that oversees administration of projects to show the economic viability of technologies that reduce nutrients in manure from commercial animal farming operations.
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring of 2012, and data will be collected throughout the three-year project.

California biogas plant to turn poultry waste into fuel

California's Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has approved an energy purchase agreement and land lease for a biogas plant that will convert chicken manure to electricity.
The plant will be part of the county's "Farm to Fuel" project, and will have a fuel cell that will convert the natural gas produced by the bacterial digestion of 2 million birds-worth of chicken manure into electricity. The power from the fuel cell will then provide 25% of the local wastewater treatment plant's power consumption for moving drinking water around the county. “Projects such as the Farms to Fuel initiative benefits a broad sector of our community,” said water agency director Mike McGuire. “Jobs are created, clean energy is produced and an agricultural waste stream is brought to beneficial use."
Construction on the plant will begin in September and the plant is set to be operational in the spring of 2012.

Animal feed equipment, technology suppliers partner on renewable energy

CPM, a supplier of process equipment and technology for the animal feed, oilseed, biofuels and human food-processing industries, and Pellet Technology LLC announce the formation of a strategic alliance that will help bring sustainable, renewable energy to electric utilities and biofuels producers.
Pellet Technology has developed a complete supply chain solution for biomass users that includes feedstock supply contracting, harvest management and production technology to turn corn stover into PowerPellets on an economic and environmentally sound basis, according to the company. Under the agreement, the two companies will work together to market Pellet Technology’s biomass engineering processes along with CPM’s hammermills and pellet mills. Together, they plan to implement a “field-to-fuel” program that provides electric utilities and biofuels producers with an affordable and reliable source of renewable energy.

Cargill focuses on environment with energy, greenhouse gas, freshwater initiatives

On the heels of Earth Day, Cargill has renewed its commitment to conserve resources in four goal areas — energy efficiency, greenhouse gas intensity, renewable energy and freshwater efficiency.
Among other things, the company has built itself around the following ideas:

• Alternative energy resources: More than 80 Cargill facilities generate power from more than 10 renewable resources such as sawdust, hulls from sunflower seeds and cocoa beans and sugar cane bagasse. These systems help limit the use of fossil fuels and reduce associated GHG emissions. At its beef and pork plants, for example, Cargill reclaims methane from its waste water lagoons and turns it into biogas to fuel its plant boilers. Biogas now displaces up to 30% of natural gas demand at 11 of Cargill's North American meat processing plants. This renewable energy represents almost 20% of these facilities' total energy consumption.
• Behavior-based energy management: Cargill is implementing behavior-based energy savings programs, a system which engages employees in recognizing and eliminating energy inefficiencies. A Cargill corn processing plant in Turkey was recognized by the Turkish government for its energy management program that includes web-based management of power consumption.
• Freshwater efficiency: Cargill is working to reduce freshwater consumption through behavioral, procedural and technical changes at its facilities. Cargill's malt plant in Spiritwood, N.D., is saving 264 million gallons of water a year through behavioral, procedural and technical changes to prevent overflows and improve awareness and education. In addition, over 24 months, Cargill's poultry facility in London, Ontario, Canada, reduced freshwater consumption by 28% by recycling the water used for cooling and rinsing. 

Cargill's environmental efforts also include supporting carbon trading markets, working in partnership with global NGOs and investing in alternative energy initiatives.

Researchers study turning chicken feathers into thermoplastics

A research team, led by Dr Yiqi Yang of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has developed a technique for turning chicken feathers into biodegradable thermoplastics, according to their study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
According to Yang, others have tried to develop thermoplastics from feathers, but so far none of them perform well when wet. "A lot of people have tried to use protein materials as the matrix material," he said. "They did not use chicken feathers but soya protein or plant proteins. The problem is the water stability. We believe we're the first to demonstrate that we can make chicken-feather-based thermoplastics stable in water, while still maintaining strong mechanical properties."
One of the driving ideas behind the research is to reduce the use of hydrocarbons in plastic production. "First of all, we wanted to make something that is totally degradable," said Yang. "Secondly, it's renewable. So you can have a bio-source of materials instead of using petrol-based materials. What we've tried to do is to turn the feathers themselves into thermoplastic, so it can also be used as the matrix material for composites, instead of using polyethylene or polypropylene."
The real-world possibilities of chicken feather plastics depend on the poultry industry becoming interested and investing in the process, said Yang, but a wide range of possible applications for the product exist. "Furniture construction, films, fibers or even fast-food containers, if people don't think of feathers when they get their food in it," he said.

Algae to produce butanol fuel

Chemical engineers at the University of Arkansas have developed a procedure to produce butanol from algae to be used as a fuel for existing internal combustion engines. Their technology has the additional benefit that the strands of algae used can oxygenate water waste and remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer runoff.
Algae is grown on raceways (long troughs) and the bio-system is provided with nitrogen, phosphorus, carbon dioxide and sunlight in a milieu of creek water. Algae is harvested, dried, ground and the carbohydrate is extracted. This is subjected to a fermentation process to produce butyric acid which is then converted to butanol. Electrodeionization is used to separate butyric acid from undesirable acetic and lactic acids.
Butanol is superior to ethanol with respect to release of energy per unit of mass, it is not corrosive and can be shipped through existing pipelines. Currently a project has been implemented in cooperation with the New York City Department of Environmental Protection to generate biofuel from algae grown at the Rockaway Waste Water Treatment Plant in Queens.

Virginia studying poultry litter as energy source

Virginia state officials are looking into using poultry litter as an alternative way to generate electricity and help Shenandoah Valley poultry farmers dispose of animal waste.
The Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Conservation and Recreation have partnered to study the possibility of a power plant that would convert poultry waste into electricity. The goal, according to Environmental Quality spokesman Bill Hayden, is to reduce nutrient pollution in a way that doesn't contribute to air pollution.

Clemson project may help poultry, pig farmers turn manure into energy

Clemson University and power producer Santee Cooper, with the help of Williamsburg County pig farm in South Carolina, are hoping to complete the loop from animal waste to electricity with the Burrows Hall Renewable Energy Facility.
The 180-kilowatt facility is expected to be in operation this summer, according to officials, and will produce enough energy to power 90 average-sized homes. The project has implications for poultry and dairy farms in addition to pig farms, and some upstate poultry farmers are already looking into the idea. “This is a demonstration project to show this is feasible within the state,” said Marc Tye, Santee Cooper’s vice president of conservation and renewable energy.

Jerusalem artichokes emerging as a biofuels crop

The versatile root vegetable has many industrial applications.

Scientists in Canada are evaluating Jerusalem artichoke production as a feedstock for biofuels production. The versatile crop has many industrial applications and could displace some corn which is currently diverted to ethanol.
It is anticipated that a grower cooperative will be established in the Okanogan Valley in central British Colombia to cultivate Jerusalem artichokes, which will be used to produce organic inulin and other derivatives.
A native of the temperate zones of North America, Jerusalem artichokes were introduced into Europe where they have been consumed as a root vegetable for over four centuries.

DuPont to acquire Danisco for $6.3 billion

DuPont has agreed to acquire Denmark-based Danisco for $6.3 billion, DKK655 ($113.85) per share.
The acquisition is expected to boost DuPont's efforts in industrial biotechnology, including renewable fuels and materials. “Danisco has two well-positioned global businesses that strongly complement our current biotechnology capabilities, R&D pipeline and specialty food ingredients, a combination that offers attractive long-term financial returns,” said DuPont CEO Ellen Kullman. “This also would create opportunities across other parts of the DuPont portfolio, including traditional materials science offerings.”
DuPont will fund the purchase with $3 billion in cash and the remainder in debt, and the deal is expected to close early in the second quarter of 2011.

Renewable energy project turning hog manure into biogas

Hoffland Environmental Inc. is constructing a renewable energy project on White Oaks Farm in North Carolina, focusing on hog manure as a fuel source.
The project, "Hoffland Biogas," plans to use a process that "utilizes a state-of-the-art system of anaerobic digestion to create a biogas that, in turn, is cleaned and sent to an engine/generator that supplies power to the grid," according to the company. The result produces no air pollution and solid waste is handled on site.
The process has been used to successfully generate electricity in Europe for three years, according to Hoffland President Robert O. Hoffland.

EuroTier visitors have opportunity to tour biogas, wood heating plants

EuroTier and BioEnergy Decentral are offering tours of biogas and wood heating plants during EuroTier 2010.
Four separate excursions involving four biogas plants and two wood heating plants are planned. Visitors will obtain practical information on energy timber production directly from the source. All plant tours will be conducted in English.

Hillandale Farms establishes bioenergy project to process hen manure

Hillandale Farms' new complex that is expected to recycle 13,000 tons of mineral byproducts annually.

Hillandale Farms of Gettysburg, Penn., and EnergyWorks BioPower have entered into a formal agreement to proceed with the construction of a facility to process manure from up to 5 million hens to generate electrical power. It is calculated that the complex using gasification technology will generate 2.5 megawatts of electricity, recycle 13,000 tons of mineral byproducts annually and reduce farm ammonia emissions by 50%.
The process will eliminate the need to apply manure to 23,000 acres of land and will contribute to the Pennsylvania 2025 goal for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus release to the Chesapeake Bay.

Delaware poultry farm converts to solar energy

The Isaacs farm in Sussex County, Del., which produces 1 to 1.24 million chickens annually for Perdue Farms, has converted all 13 of its houses to solar energy.
The new system, which has been in place for a month, is already performing better than anticipated, producing more power than the farm is using and providing income in the form of Solar Renewable Energy Certificates (SREC), which are being sold to the utilities. "It's like money in the bank," said Robbie Isaacs. Current estimates indicate that, in addition to over $10,500 in electric bill savings, the farm will generate roughly $32,500 annually in SRECs.
Isaacs said the decision to convert made sense. "With all the grant money out there that's going to go away and all the advancements in solar energy, I just couldn't see waiting any longer." He researched alternative energy developments for more than a decade before getting the go-ahead from his father to install solar in January 2010. The systems were installed and running within six months. "I just looked up at that big blue sky and thought all this sun is producing energy and I can use that," said Isaacs. "Why pay someone else for energy when (sunshine) is free?"